Bizarro writer's symbols: What do they mean?

ComicsDan Piraro's symbols: What do they mean?

In our ongoing quest for Ultimate Bizarro Awareness, we asked Dan Piraro to take a word-association test using the secret symbols he puts in his daily comic about life's oddities.

Bizarro started in 1985. Ten years later the artist began adding secret symbols to the panel, which appears Mondays-Saturdays in the Houston Chronicle.

"I started on a whim in 1995 — just to entertain myself," Piraro said in an e-mail correspondence.

"People began writing to me almost immediately asking if there was some significance. Since people seemed to enjoy it, I added more, more often."

This year in response to reader requests, Piraro began adding a number next to his signature to indicate how many symbols are hidden in that day's comic.

Piraro uses 11 symbols.

"The first was the upside-down bird," Piraro said. "Soon thereafter I added the alien, eyeball and pie. The others followed in subsequent years."

The crown, which stood for an old girlfriend, disappeared when Piraro got married six years ago. However, it has made a reappearance with a small "R" in the center, which stands for Piraro's friend and business partner, Rey Ortega.

The last symbol he added is the firecracker or dynamite.

"It refers to my wife, who changed almost everything about my life instantaneously, like an explosion. Not just in sappy, sentimental ways, but philosophically. She made me aware of the plight of animals and the environment at the hands of our rabid consumerism, and I've not seen the world the same since."

On his Web site, Bizarro .com, Piraro provides bizarre descriptions of 10 symbols. The stick of dynamite is missing from the list.

"My Web site was designed and built a long time ago, and in a way that makes it difficult to change. If I added it, it would have to be in a different place and a different way, which might look strange. Plus, I like having people write to me to ask about it," Piraro said.

"Contact with readers is a good thing. I can e-mail them when I'm going to be doing a comedy show in their area, when new books come out or just to invite them to check out my blog every day."